WV Leaders of Literacy:
Campaign for Grade-Level
Reading
IA •
ERA
VIR
G IN
LIT
W EST
Creating a
20/20
Vision
CY
West Virginia’s Transformative System
of Support for Early Literacy
LEADERS
F
O
County Grade-Level Reading Team
Technical Assistance Guide
July 2015
West Virginia Department of Education
Division of Teaching and Learning
Office of Early Learning
West Virginia Board of Education
2015-2016
Michael I. Green, President
Lloyd G. Jackson II, Vice President
Tina H. Combs, Secretary
Thomas W. Campbell, Member
Beverly E. Kingery, Member
L. Wade Linger, Jr., Member
Gayle C. Manchin, Member
William M. White, Member
James S. Wilson, Member
Paul L. Hill, Ex Officio
Chancellor
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Sarah A. Tucker, Ex Officio
Interim Chancellor
West Virginia Community and Technical College Education
Michael J. Martirano, Ex Officio
State Superintendent of Schools
West Virginia Department of Education
Table of Contents
2
Reading Success by the End of Third Grade:
Instructional and Health Determinants of Early School Success
4
West Virginia’s Targeted Solutions and Core Strategies
5
WVBE Policy 2512: A Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
6
Keynote: Closing the Literacy Achievement Gap in WV
7
Session One: Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: A Paradigm Shift
8
Session Two: West Virginia’s Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
9
Bright Spots: Promoting Early Learning Attendance Efforts
10
Session Three: Making Data-Driven Decisions
12
Bright Spots: School Readiness Efforts and Ready, Set, Go! WV
13
The “Dynamic” Action Plan
14
Campaign Partner Event
16
Bright Spots: High-Quality, Standards-Focused Instruction
17
Session Four: Supporting High-Quality Literacy Instruction through Sustained,
Personalized, Professional Learning for Educators
18
Bright Spots: Engaging Families
19
Session Five: Maintaining Focus: Implementation of the County Action Plan
20
Bright Spots: Extended Learning Opportunities
21
County Early Literacy Plan: Moving Forward for a 2020 Vision
1
A Comprehensive Approach to Reading Success
by the End of the Third Grade
School
Readiness
Too many children from low-income families begin school already far behind. The research shows
that these children are less likely to be read or spoken to regularly or to have access to books,
literacy-rich environments, high-quality early care, and pre-k programs. As a consequence, these
children may hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their middle-income peers before
reaching kindergarten. Research also shows that such interactions are critical for language
development, an important precursor to literacy.
61 percent of low-income
children have no children’s
books at home.
The
Attendance
Gap
Too many children from low-income families miss too many days of school. Research has found that
one in 10 kindergarten and first grade students nationwide misses nearly a month of school each
year in excused and unexcused absences. By fifth grade, children with chronic absences who are
from low-income families achieve lower academically.
One in ten kindergarten
students miss nearly a month
of school every year. In some
districts it runs as high as one
in three.
Summer
Learning
Loss
A child’s vocabulary as early
Poor children hear as many as
30 million fewer words than their as age three can predict third
grade reading proficiency.
more affluent peers.
Kindergarteners who miss 10
percent of school days have
lower academic performance
when they reach first grade.
Among children from lowincome families, who lack
the resources to make up
lost time, chronic absence in
kindergarten translated into
lower fifth grade achievement.
Too many children lose ground over the summer months. Without access to the enriching activities
available to more affluent peers, research shows that children from low-income families lose as much
as three months of reading comprehension skills over the summer. By the end of fifth grade, they are
nearly three grade levels behind their peers.
Low-income students lose
an average of more than two
months in reading achievement
in the summer, while their
middle income peers tend to
make gains in reading.
By the end of the fifth grade,
disadvantaged children are
nearly three grade equivalents
behind their more affluent peers
in reading.
Studies show 6-week summer
learning programs can produce
statistically significant gains in
reading performance.
Family
Engagement
Parents are the first teachers and most important advocates for their children. Research shows
that students are most successful academically and socially when their parents are involved
and engaged in their learning. Encouraging family engagement can help turn around the state’s
achievement problems, starting with making significant progress against the milestone of grade-level
reading by the end of third grade.
Healthy
Readers
Learning begins at birth and healthy development greatly impacts children’s ability to learn. Children
who are on track in their physical, social and emotional, cognitive, and verbal development are more
successful learners from their earliest years, and they are more likely to become proficient readers
by the end of the third grade.
State Level
Outreach and
Professional
Development
The WVDE works with child and family advocates to help assure a seamless system of care,
services, and supports from birth through third grade. This includes policy and practice that
promotes children’s optimal social, emotional, and cognitive development; improves professional
development for the early childhood education workforce, and supports parents as their children’s
first teacher and best advocate.
2
More children are
ready for healthy
transitions into
school (WV
Universal Pre-K or
Kindergarten).
Screenings catch developmental, hearing and
vision problems before they interfere with
learning.
Social and emotional development builds
curiosity and supports learning.
Prenatal care supports early brain
development.
Managing children’s asthma helps them
reduce absences.
More children
attend school
regularly.
Breakfast in the classroom improves
attendance and learning.
Regular dental care prevents lost learning time.
More children have
opportunities to
learn in the
summer.
All children have
opportunities to
engage in
high-quality
classroom learning
instruction in the
early learning
grades.
Summer food programs keep kids healthy
when school is out.
Physical activity helps children pay attention
and learn.
High-quality, standards-based instructional
practices lead to heightened student
achievement.
Positive dispositions to learning are developed
early on to establish a culture of learning to
impact career and college readiness.
Adapted from:
http://gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/GLR_HealthDeterminants_diagramHR.pdf
3
West Virginia’s Targeted Solutions and
Core Strategies
The targeted solutions and core strategies, coordinated with a comprehensive approach to address
early learning in WV, serve as the WVDE’s approach to close the reading achievement gap by third
grade. The Campaign for Grade Level Reading results in five key goals:
1. Ensure all West Virginia children have access to high quality early learning experiences that
focus on healthy learners as part of the Ready, Set, Go! WV model, resulting in increased
children on target for healthy development beginning at birth.
2. Close the attendance gap to certify West Virginia children attend school regularly and limit
chronic absenteeism in the early grades.
3. Design targeted, sustained extended day and summer reading programs to battle summer
learning loss.
4. Increase family engagement to result in the development of a culture of literacy from birth
through third grade.
5. Support high quality schools and workforce prepared to address early literacy, support
identification of interventions, and implement a system of support for children not reaching
grade level proficiency.
To accomplish the long term goal of supporting all learners to close the literacy achievement
gap in WV, the WVDE Office of Early Learning has established a two-pronged approach. The first
component is tackling the short term logistics associated with measuring and supporting children to
address their immediate needs to ensure they are on a trajectory for third grade literacy proficiency
and eventual college and career readiness. The second component focuses on a systemic
approach to early literacy in WV that is supported by WV’s Campaign for Grade Level Reading. This
comprehensive approach includes utilization of school and community supports.
To ensure West Virginia remains on track to closing the literacy achievement gap and ensuring
the system of support beginning with WV Universal Pre-K is effective and results in the long term
outcomes established, WVDE aims to partner with the National Institute for Early Education Research
(NIEER) to conduct a high quality longitudinal research study to ascertain: (1) the nature and
quality of the state’s PK-3 instructional program and (2) the summative impact of West Virginia’s
Pre-kindergarten programs upon student achievement in reading/language arts and mathematics.
This comprehensive study would unfold over the course of five years, though initial data would be
available at the conclusion of the first year and continuously updated thereafter. The study would
ultimately yield a set of research-based recommendations for improvements to the state’s PK-3
instructional program and provide systematic knowledge about the impact of participation in Pre-K
upon academic achievement, in particular 3rd Grade Reading Achievement.
As a result, the 2014 legislative session resulted in a refocusing of the critical skills program in West
Virginia Code §18-2E-10 exclusively on the goal of every child reading at grade level by the end of
the 3rd grade.
4
WVBE Policy 2512: A Transformative System of
Support for Early Literacy
The provisions established by the refocusing of West Virginia Code §18-2E-10 have resulted in a
repeal and replace of WVBE Policy 2512 (currently on public comment) to ensure county boards of
education are provided a framework to support a transformative system of support for early literacy.
This policy includes key national and other researched-based components of a comprehensive
system to support early literacy development. The framework is inclusive of the components
evidenced below:
West Virginia’s Campaign for Grade Level Reading:
A Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
Measurement and Support of Children’s
Trajectory for 3rd Grade Literacy Proficiency
A Systemic, Comprehensive Approach
WV Early Learning Reporting System
• Data reporting based on the formative
assessment process
• Family communication resources
Promoting early childhood school attendance
• Outcome resources for data-driven decision
making
Providing supports to eliminate summer learning
• Comprehensive P-3 data profile
loss
• 3rd grade achievement gap data analysis
High-quality, Standards-based instruction and
Increasing family engagement
learning
• Personalized learning
• Standards-focused instruction
Ensuring high-quality instruction and learning
• Relationship between learning and teaching
Emphasizing high-quality school readiness
efforts
The infrastructure to develop and implement a state wide campaign to close the reading
achievement gap is found in WVBE Policy 2512:
• WVBE Policy 2512: Tranformative System of Support for Early Literacy
• WV Leaders of Literacy: Campaign for Grade Level Reading
5
Keynote:
Closing the Literacy Achievement Gap in WV
W. Clayton Burch, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Teaching and Learning
July 20, 2015
Reflection
What are the most important ideas from this session you will share with County Grade-Level Team
Members?
What are potential challenges that may need to be addressed?
Resources
www.wvleadersofliteracy.org
www.glrhuddle.org
A Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy: Getting All Students Reading by Third Grade
WVBE Policy 2512: West Virginia’s Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
6
Session One:
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: A Paradigm
Shift
Ron Fairchild, Director, National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
July 20, 2015
General Guiding Questions
Session Specific Questions
What are the essential understandings from this
session?
How will you determine and prioritize the next
steps in implementation?
What information will you share with other
members of the County Grade-Level Reading
Team?
What resources and/or collaborative partners are
needed for your county team to move forward
with implementation?
Questions you have about this session:
1.
Notes:
2.
3.
7
Session Two:
West Virginia’s Transformative System of Support
for Early Literacy
Monica DellaMea, Executive Director, WVDE Office of Early Learning
July 20, 2015
General Guiding Questions
What are the top three new ideas or resources learned during this session?
How might this information be shared with other members of the County Grade-Level Reading
Team?
How might our county team utilize the resources identified in this session?
Questions you have about this session:
1.
2.
3.
Resources
www.wvleadersofliteracy.org
www.glrhuddle.org
A Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy: Getting All Students Reading by Third Grade
WVBE Policy 2512: West Virginia’s Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
8
Bright Spots:
Promoting Early Learning Attendance Efforts
Team/Presenters:
Key ideas that might influence our county team’s work:
Websites
WVEIS: http://wveis.k12.wv.us/
Attendance Works: http://www.attendanceworks.org/
Attendance Research: http://glrhuddle.org/resources/research#attendance
Data First: http://www.data-first.org/data-center/
9
Session Three:
Making Data-Driven Decisions
(Examples from the Field)
ZoomWV • http://wvde.state.wv.us/zoomwv/
Sara Harper, sara.harper@k12.wv.us and Brian Nichols, brian.c.nichols@k12.wv.us
WVDE Office of Data Management and Analysis
National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading • http://gradelevelreading.net/
Bob Saffold, Bob@smarterlearninggroup.com
National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading • http://gradelevelreading.net/
Ilka Walkley, ilka@resultsleadership.org
10
West Virginia Birth to Three • http://www.wvdhhr.org/birth23/
Pam Roush, pam.s.roush@wv.gov
West Virginia Early Learning Reporting System • www.wvde.us/elrs
Monica DellaMea, mdellamea@k12.wv.us
Janet Bock-Hager, jbockhager@k12.wv.us
Helpdesk: elrs@help.k12.wv.us
General Feedback: elrs-feedback@wvde.state.wv.us
11
Bright Spots:
School Readiness Efforts and Ready, Set, Go! WV
Team/Presenters:
Key ideas that might influence our county team’s work:
Websites
http://glrhuddle.org/school-readiness
WV’s Comprehensive Framework for School Readiness and Transitions: www.readysetgowv.com
WV 2014 School Readiness Profile: http://wvde.state.wv.us/ready-set-go/
School Readiness Research: http://glrhuddle.org/resources/research#readiness
Data First: http://www.data-first.org/data-center/
12
The “Dynamic” Action Plan
The county action plan is dynamic in that it consistently evolves based around the unique needs,
strengths, partnerships, and interventions available in your local communities. Based on the
information you heard today, please take a few moments to indicate the additional edits your team
may choose to make to your county plan for each area.
County Action Plan Part One: Current Status
County Action Plan Part Two: Desired Goals and Impact
County Action Plan Part Three: Strategy
13
Campaign Partner Event
Campaign Partner
Service Provided
14
Step 1
West Virginia Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Community Engagement Toolkit
Potential Partners:
County Libraries
and Museums
Town & City
Government
Literacy
Organizations
Medical
Community
Pediatricians
Family Health Care
Local Health Departments
Dentists
Hospitals
Adult Reading Programs
Imagination Library
WV Read Aloud
Save the Children
Parents as Mentors
Parent•Teacher
Organizations
Faith-Based
Organizations
Civic
Organizations
Extended Learning
Organizations
United Way
Rotary Club
Lion’s Club
Boy/Girl Scouts
Kiwanis
Energy Express
After School Network
YMCA/YWCA
Institutions of
Higher Education
Philanthropic
Organizations
Early Childhood
Organizations
Business
Owners
DHHR/Childcare
Head Start, Early Head Start
Birth to 3
In-home Visitation Programs
Family Resource Network
15
5
Bright Spots:
High-Quality, Standards-Focused Instruction
Team/Presenters:
Key ideas that might influence our county team’s work:
Websites
www.wvnextgen.org
WVDE TREE: https://wvde.state.wv.us/apps/tree/
WVBE Policy 2510-Assuring the Quality of Education: https://static.k12.wv.us/oel/docs/foundations/
Implications_Reflective%20Questions%20for%20Six%20Foundations-Reviewer.pdf
Achieve the Core: http://achievethecore.org/
16
Session Four:
Supporting High-Quality Literacy Instruction
through Sustained, Personalized, Professional
Learning for Educators
Core Task Project • http://www.resa3tools.com/archives.html
Amanda Flora, RESA 3, aflora@k12.wv.us
Early Literacy Network of Support
Tarabeth Brumfield, June Harless Center for Rural Education Research, brumfield11@marshall.edu
Monica DellaMea, mdellamea@k12.wv.us
Teaching Resources for Educational Excellence (WV TREE)
https://wvde.state.wv.us/apps/tree/
Teresa Hammond, thammond@k12.wv.us
Charlotte Webb, ctwebb@k12.wv.us
17
Bright Spots:
Engaging Families
Team/Presenters:
Key ideas that might influence our county team’s work:
Websites
http://www.pbs.org/parents/
http://www.wvdhhr.org/rfts/
http://www.pta.org/parents/?navItemNumber=506
http://www.ed.gov/parent-and-family-engagement
http://wvnextgen.org/family.html
18
Session Five:
Maintaining Focus: Implementation of the County
Action Plan
Key Concepts
Resources
19
Bright Spots:
Extended Learning Opportunities
Team/Presenters:
Key ideas that might influence our county team’s work:
Websites
http://wvsan.ext.wvu.edu/
http://energyexpress.ext.wvu.edu/
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_PB04_ExtendedLearning.pdf
http://www.communityschools.org/elo/
http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Programs/Expanded_Learning_Opportunities_(ELO).html
20
The “Dynamic” County Early Literacy Plan:
Moving Forward for a 2020 Vision
The county action plan is dynamic in that it consistently evolves based around the unique needs,
strengths, partnerships, and interventions available in your local communities. Based on the
information you heard today, please take a few moments to indicate the additional edits your team
may choose to make to your county plan for each area.
County Action Plan Part Four: Data
County Action Plan Part Five: Success and Sustainability
21
Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D.
State Superintendent of Schools